UMass Amherst EI

From Corporate Jobs to Entrepreneurial Careers: Entrepreneurs tell it like it is

April 27, 2010, Amherst MA - The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI), in partnership with the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Women Presidents Organization, is hosting its final event of the semester: "From Corporate Jobs to Entrepreneurial Careers: Entrepreneurs tell it like it is."  This panel discussion features four veteran entrepreneurs sharing their personal experiences on the entrepreneurial career path. 

When: Tuesday 4/27, 5:30-7:30pm
Location: E Lab II
After-event social: 7:30 pm @ Rafters (a family-friendly venue)

Panelist Bios:

Marjorie Feldman-Wood - A true entrepreneur and the President and CFO for Al's Holding, Inc. and Subsidiaries. She has more than 20 years of financial experience. She's worked in Poland as the Director of Finance for World Cable Communications, Inc. and served as Vice President and Director of Taxes for its U.S. affiliate, Chase Enterprises. Marjorie purchased Al's Beverage Company in 1996 and Jason Soda Company in 1998.   Marjorie is also an inventor. She is currently beta testing her take on a water cooler.

Nancy Urbschat - Upon completion of an MBA from The Ohio State University, Nancy Urbschat and her family moved to western Massachusetts. Her first (and last) corporate job as a market research analyst in the insurance industry lasted two months. She joined a start-up marketing firm, worked her way to a partnership, and ultimately assumed ownership when her partner retired. Her marketing communications agency, TSM Design, is celebrating 25 years.

Lisa Ekus - The Lisa Ekus Group, LLC specializes in promoting a world of culinary talent, representing food/wine/beverage/nutrition authors, chefs, restaurants, food and product manufacturers for more than 28 years. Their scope of services include on-camera Media Training, Public Relations and Marketing campaigns, Endorsement deals and Literary /Spokesperson representation and Contracts. They are based in Hatfield, MA, with clients based around the globe.. For more info go to www.LisaEkus.com.

Sarah Maggi Morin - A Principal at ODG, New England Area Developer for the Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar brand. Buffalo Wild Wings currently has over 600 units in 42 states, topping $1 billion in sales in 2009. ODG currently owns and operates units in CT and MA.  Morin was awarded the 2007 New Franchisee of the Year award by Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc, and has presented at the Buffalo Wild Wings national convention on Local Store Marketing and Employer-of-Choice best practices. With experience in the development, launch, marketing and operations of various retail concepts on both the east and west coasts and Las Vegas, Morin’s consulting clients have included specialty national and international retail brands including Mulholland, In The Pink Lilly Pulitzer and L’ebario Toscano.  Morin loves beer, wings, sports and creating jobs.

About The UMass EI (umassei.org):
The mission of the UMass EI is to help students turn ideas into businesses. The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business.  Students participating in EI's program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors.

About Women Presidents' Organization (WPO):
The Women Presidents' Organization (WPO) locally and internationally connects top women entrepreneurs at the million and multimillion-dollar level ($2 million in gross annual sales or $1 million for service-based business) for greater personal and professional success. In monthly meetings across the US and Canada, chapters composed of 20 accomplished women presidents from diverse industries and backgrounds invest time and energy in themselves and their businesses to drive their corporations to the next level. For more information, call (212) 688-4114.

April 13, 2010, Amherst, MA – Last night, the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (UMass EI) awarded seed capital to aspiring student entrepreneurs through its seventh Executive Summary Competition which is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). The competition consisted of businesses ranging from ladies’ shoes to investment consulting in Haiti.  An unusual feature of this year’s competition was the very strong performance by students from Mount Holyoke College.

This year’s top place was a tie between two teams: 
 
Filmix was awarded of $750.  The company enables independent filmmakers to post their work online where customers may sample and download the films.  The team consisted of Vladislav Yazhbin, a triple major at UMass (Mathematics, Computer Science, and individualized major in Human Computer Interaction) and Vennie Encheva, a triple major at Mount Holyoke College (Mathematics, Economics, Politics).

Also awarded $750 was Rocky Mountain Field Hockey, the company of UMass student Sarah Williams, a major in Landscape Architecture.  The company is dedicated to promoting advanced field hockey training for high school players in Colorado aspiring to play in college.

 Participating in the competition were three other teams. 

Foodcycle coordinates the collection and removal of food waste from commercial kitchens.  The team consisted of two UMass students: Rose Weiss and Mauricio Abascal.  The team received $500 from the judges and an additional $250 as the audience’s favorite.

DisaporConex offered an investment platform through which Haitian immigrants can connect effectively to businesses and schools in Haiti.  The company is led by UMass students Jean Arnaud and Adrien Tofighi.

Three Mount Holyoke students with a company called Vedette pitched their concept of an innovative ladies’ shoe with detachable high heels.  The students were Alex Ivanova, Gergana Kostadinova, and Divisha Chumun. 

Noting the prominence of Mount Holyoke students in the competition, EI co-organizer Dan Gordon, a professor of history, said, “These young ladies are each fluent in many academic disciplines and brought tremendous entrepreneurial spirit to the class. There were seventy-five applicants for the competition and all the Mount Holyoke students made it to the finals.”

The competition's judges were nine distinguished bankers, investors, grant issuers, and entrepreneurs.

About The UMass EI (umassei.org): The mission of the UMass EI is to help students turn ideas into businesses. The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business.  Students participating in EI's program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors.



The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative

Awards Thousands in Seed Funding to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

November 17th 2009, Amherst, MA – Last night, the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (UMass EI) awarded thousands of dollars in seed capital to aspiring Student Entrepreneurs through its sixth
Executive Summary Competition which is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). The competition consisted of businesses ranging from High-tech solutions for today’s problems to socially responsible business ideas.  This year’s top place was awarded to Undercover Lady Lover.

1st place honors, a prize of $1,500, went to Undercover Lady Lover, and an additional People’s Choice Award of $500 was awarded. Undercover Lady Lover is a Women’s Clothing line designed specifically with lesbian tastes in mind. The team consists of Erin Callahan who is a senior at UMass Amherst studying Entertainment Marketing and Small Business Management.

 2nd place winnings went to New Roots who received $500.

• New Roots is a non-profit organization that provides resources for elementary and middle schools to

establish and sustain student gardens on campus, while integrating the garden into school

curricula. Alexandra Whaley has run a student garden at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and taught the corresponding class for a year. She has also worked with Sustainable South Shore to sustain a student garden at a middle school.

3rd place winnings went to Lustig International Technologies (L.I.T.).

• Lustig International
• Other finalists included:
  
  VMO Longboards –

Since the first board was finished on June 8th 2009 VMO LongBoards has been designing and hand crafting long boards used for transportation, recreation and eye candy. VMO have made 14 one of a kind boards and sold 10 of them.

FIZIX! -  A product development firm focused on addressing the needs of developing nations, specifically in the areas of medical devices and portable power supplies

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Dirty Brewing, UMass Bike Sharing Program, CoinVesting, Creative Companionship Initiative, Global Opportunities, Language Smash, One-Stop Realty, The CouponCard, and URecycle: A Social Enterprise.

The competition's judges were: DR Widder (Principal at Milestone Strategies Group), Baer Tierkel (Sweet Mojo), Derek Lyman (Co-Founder & CEO at Dexrex LLC), Joe Bohan (Founder of SciDose LLC), Mike Giles (VisionStudio.com), Tom Kennedy (Former CFO of RSA Security).

About The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (umassei.org): The mission of the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) is to help students turn ideas into businesses. The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business.  Students participating in EI's program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors. The program is sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, and EI Alumni.

Thousands in Seed Funding Awarded to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Contact info: Robert W. Hyers (hyers [at] ecs [dot] umass [dot] edu | 413-545-2253)

March 25^th 2009, Amherst, MA – Last night, the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (UMass EI) awarded thousands of dollars in seed capital to aspiring Student Entrepreneurs through its bi-annual Executive Summary Competition.  The competition is sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation (www.hgcf.org) and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (www.NCIIA.org). The competition consisted of several different types of businesses ranging from High-tech solutions for today’s problems to socially responsible business ideas. 

1^st place honors, a prize of $3,500, went to Precision Slip, and the company also took home an additional $500 for the People’s Choice Award.  Precision Slip is a concept company with a laboratory proven drag reducing marine coating technology capable of decreasing fuel consumption at least 40% for a typical merchant ship or providing the winning edge in the America’s Cup. The team members include Robert Daniello and Professor Jonathan Rothstein as a faculty advisor.

 2^nd place winnings went to Localocracy supplying the company with $500.

• Localocracy is a web-based platform for political discussion where users who have been verified as living in a particular community can post and rank responses to their local issues. The service is free to the general public, and is paid for by special interest groups who pay for targeted placement. The team includes Conor White-Sullivan, Benjy Messner, and Professor M.J. Alhabeeb as faculty advisor.

3^rd place winnings went to Andanje Foundation supplying the company with $500. 

• Andanje Foundation seeks to provide computers & learning technology to youth in remote regions of developing nations, starting with seven pilot programs in Kenya.  Their goal is to use computer literacy & technological learning strategies to open doors of opportunity to critically underserved children. The team includes Elly Tuti, Jennie D’Ambroise, and Eric Mwangi.

Other finalists include:

Apera Solutions - A technology integration firm developing a process that enables a synergy of industrial efficiency, renewable power, and renewable fuels within the ethanol and wind markets.

MicroTissues, Inc. - A company dedicated to the commercialization of the 3-D Petri dish, a proprietary new tool for the life sciences industry. The 3-D Petri dish is an enabling technology that can grow cells in three dimensions and will reduce the cost to discover new drugs by the pharmaceutical industry.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Carabase Training, ComfyCutter, CookIt, Dry-A-Ways, E-Z Laundry, GloSkirts, iSpy, Khross Clothing, RaveWave Club Effects, and Shepherd.

The competition's judges were: Denise Dukette (Director of Lending at Western Mass. Enterprise Fund), Joseph Steig (Director, Venture Well and CFO, Long River Ventures, Co-Founder of the River Valley Investors and EI), Paul Gelinas (CEO at Zippy Blue LLC, Member of the River Valley Investors), Steve Willis (Co-founder of Wellfleet Communications and Argon Networks), and DR Widder (Principal at Milestone Strategies Group and member of the River Valley Investors).

 

About The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (umassei.org):

The mission of the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) is to help students turn ideas into businesses.  The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business.  Students participating in EI's program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors. The program is sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, and EI Alumni.